Some of these crops take so long to do a thing. What can we eat from the garden while waiting? Like bean pant leaves? Squash leaves? Anything along these lines useful for food? I had heard that potato levees are poison.

Squash blossoms are great! Dip them in a batter and fry. Lots of flowers are edible.

Ellen

My best recommendation is have some patience this year. For next, try planting some things that are harvested early.

Like you, I am impatient to get things out of the garden, so I have tried to add some early items for picking. I did Radishes this year (first time, but some are around 28 days, so how could I pass that up), I plant snap peas (cool weather, so they are typically about a month ahead of the a lot of other things). I find zucchini and cucumbers both come in a bit early (at least for me - I am harvesting both already). Also some of the herbs do well early (already dried a bunch of oregano and made my first batch of pesto from harvested basil last weekend). Beats, if planted early enough in the spring can also be harvested a bit early (late June for me, and then re-planted for a fall harvest). It gives me something to do while waiting for the tomatoes, beans, peppers, eggplant and the rest.

There are a couple of crops here that grow really quick:
Rocket - nice leaves for salads in a few weeks (Mizuma is similar).
Broccoli Raab - its a relative of the turnip but produces nice tender shoots (like sprouting broccoli but quicker).
Kohl Rabi is pretty quick too.

Fall planted garlic and onions are ready in June. And if you started Basil inside this spring, you can be harvesting some leaves now. Now you have some ingredients for salsa and pesto.

yesterday i dug two hills of taters, and harvested about 6-7 pounds of real nice kenebeck, a few of them was realy nice baking size as big as a pint jar probly, my onions are about the size of a tennis ball, and everything is still growing well, just had close to three inches of rain last week, i havnt even had to water anything yet this year,

Squash leaves - harvest only the young, tender leaves. The larger ones are too tough and have spines. Braise them as you would other greens. They don't have a great flavor though IMO - you need to add other ingredients to make interesting. For the blossoms, use only the males - the females are what produce the squashes so you don't want to sacrifice those. There are almost always more male flowers than are needed anyway.

You can harvest baby beets and carrots - also snip young beet tops for salad greens. New potatoes are a real treat - pluck the ones just under the soil surface so you won't disturb the plant too much. Do NOT eat the leaves - you are right, they are toxic. Small onions - pull and use as you would a scallion, including the bulb.

Green tomatoes - slice, batter and fry for fried green tomatoes. Zucchini & other summer squash can be picked while very small - these are a delicacy and command a high price at the market.

What specifically are you growing?

Lot's of the early cool season stuff. I'm just finishing up with my pea harvest, I started picking them June 25 this year. The snap peas will go on producing for a while. Lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets are all ready pretty early. You can scout out new potatoes pretty early, we've had several meals with them even here in the cold north. Strawberries are early. Last year I picked my first cucumber June 20 (plants started early indoors), but no way this year. The early food is the best when we've been waiting sooo long.

And you can eat the thinnings of carrots and beets. I plant them thick on purpose, just so I can eat something while waiting for the real crop. Just thinned carrots today, got a nice mess of them for pot roast. Kohlrabi too, the little ones are good.

Plant onions only about 4 inches apart, that way you can pull every other one to eat while waiting for the big ones.

Most leaves of our garden plants are not so much poisonous as they are undigestible in the human gut. They just go through you.

This year you have a garden, and am ambitious one. But now it's time for you to start planning for 2009, 2010 and 2011.

To eat steadily from the garden in the early season, you need a good place for successive small plantings of fast, cool season growers.

Think about what worked for you this year, what didn't and why. What matured quickly. What could have gone in earlier.

Right now you should be eating the last of the strawberries, possibly you should have radishes left. Garden peas should be coming on, Lettuce should be available in profusion. You should be eating the last of your early carrot plantings and the first of your later ones. The early tomatoes that you started under cover should be bearing. You should have green onions. You may be able to dig small numbers of new potatoes, knowing, however, that this will reduce your fall yield of storage potatoes.

You can take some beet greens as long as you are not too greedy. Chard should be ready.

Thanks for all the replies.
Your taters as big as jars - WOW! Thought it took longer than this.

How do I tell male squash flowers from female?

I did plant some purslane I found and it seems to grow pretty good.

Planning for 09, 10 and beyond? Never thought about that. But if one is serious I guess you have to plan ahead to keep things rolling. I'm still trying to see what I get for 08?

I got a late start, almost 2 months late, but my carrots finally started too grow and some of the greens like kale and Swiss chard are sprouting. My broccoli and spinach seems to have failed to sprout. My melons are a couple inches high. even if I get small melon I'd like to see how they grow and space needed. This year I am just trying to figure out how it all works.

quote:

How do I tell male squash flowers from female?

Male flowers are on a stalk. Female flowers have a baby fruit right under them, looks like a small green marble.

Ive been eating pea pods and green beans in the garden every day. Just saw my first tomato turning red. Can't wait to eat that first mater of the season.
datgirl

Allenwrench.. did you get a late start because of the weather? I know I planted stuff later bcause of the cool damp weather. I didn't want my stuff to rot in the ground, like taters. I'm digging new taters now. They probably would have been out there sooner, but I didn't plant them until mid to late April.

I started swiss chard indoors and transplanted it outdoors. They took a while to take off, but once they did.. they are doing well. The ones that got the rabbit manure rather than the coffee grounds are doing a lot better, are a lot bigger. SO.. the other swiss chard got a dose of rabbit stuff. I'm waiting to see the results.

I like chives for something to pick as early as possible and as late as possible. Chives are good in salads, eggs, on potatoes and in a number of things.

Green beans usually come in pretty fast. I planted mine late, and I picked my first bunch tonight. But if you plant them as soon as teh danger of frost is past here (in early May) you will be picking beans by the end of June or by the July 4th.

quote:

Originally posted by allenwrench:



I did plant some purslane I found and it seems to grow pretty good.

You planted this in your garden???? All I have to do is water mine in June and its everywhere,lol!!!